MIAMI, Florida — Apparently overwhelmed by the high number of scuba diving fatalities during this year's lobster mini-season, both the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida media miscounted the number of fatal diving accident victims. "Compared with last year's miniseason, we did have one less death, but four deaths are too many for lobster miniseason," said Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Johnson. Local media echoed the erroneous Coast Guard report of four diver fatalities concluding that 2009 was marginally safer than 2008. In fact, five divers died, including 39-year-old Scott Schichtel, whose death was somehow overlooked by Coast Guard officials and local newspaper and television media. The high number of diver deaths, including yet another scuba diver killed by a boat, underscores the unacceptably high risk of scuba diving in Florida, America's most dangerous dive destination. Despite heavy marine patrols and prior warnings issued by the U.S. Coast Guard, the total of five fatalities equaled last year's lobster mini-season death count, which was five times the average of one death for the two-day annual hunting event. While Coast Guard warnings emphasized the importance of pre-dive safety checks including a thorough examination of scuba equipment, few of Florida's scuba-related fatalities appear to stem from equipment failure. Among the five diving accident victims, yet another diver was killed by a boat. During the past five years, at least 26 divers have been killed or severely injured by boats in Florida, which has no mandatory certification system for boat operators nor required training in standard boat safety procedures. The following five divers died during Florida's 2009 2-day lobster mini-season. Norman Williams Norman Williams, 60, who grew up in the Florida Keys and lived in Henderson, Nevada, was the last diver to die this year after he was hit by a boat near Key West at about 4:00 pm on Thursday. Bruce Ellwood Cook Bruce Ellwood Cook, 58, of Wellington, Florda, was the fourth diver to die after he was found floating face down near Marathon Key on Thursday at about . Cook was spearfishing, not diving for lobsters when he died. Scott Schichtel Overlooked by the U.S. Coast Guard and local media, Scott Schichtel, 39, was the third diver to die after he resurfaced with his brother, Richard, off Peck Lake, some three miles south of St. Lucie Inlet, where they were diving for lobsters. Shane Slusarz Shane Slusarz, 36, became the second diver to die on the first day of lobster mini-season after he encountered problems underwater and died soon after he was brought back up to the boat at Pelican Flats. Daniel Pochedley Daniel Pochedley, 48, of Sarasota, was the first diver to die on the opening day of Florida's 2009 lobster mini-season. A police diver found the body of the missing scuba diver off Haulover Inlet around 12:30 pm, about two and a half hours after he first disappeared. Florida's dangerous, diver-unfriendly waters On July 30, Norman Williams Jr., 60, became the fifth diving accident victim during Florida's lobster mini-season after he was hit by a boat near Key West.On July 30, Bruce Ellwood Cook, 58, became the fourth diving accident victim during Florida's lobster mini-season.On July 30, Scott Schichtel, 39, became the third diving accident victim during Florida's lobster mini-season.On July 29, Shane Slusarz, 36, became the second diver to die during lobster mini-season.On July 29, Daniel Pochedley, 48, of Sarasota, was found dead about an hour after disappearing near Haulover Beach on the first day of lobster mini-season.On July 24, the U.S. Coast Guard airlifted David Baptist, 57, to Florida Hospital after he resurfaced with signs of potentially fatal decompression sickness.On July 23, a 57-year-old woman was rushed to hospital after she resurfaced from a dive to 18 meters with symptoms of potentially fatal decompression sickness.Also on July 23, a 38-year-old man was rushed to hospital after he started spitting up blood following a dive off Pompano Beach.On July 19, Lana Gandert, 58, of Edison, Ohio, died while snorkel diving with her husband and two sons at Sand Key Light, Florida.On July 17, popular elementary school teacher, David Sheppard, 60, of Cross City, died while diving off Steinhatchee, Florida, after he was hit by a boat.On July 16, Michael Manna, 46, apparently drowned five days after he married while snorkel diving at DuBois Park, Florida.On July 12, Craig Winnerman, 48, was rescued after his boat drifted away in strong winds while he was scuba diving alone near Dunedin Reef, Florida.On July 10, Richard Losz, 37, died off Hollywood, Florida, while scuba diving alone.On July 7, Daniel Goepel, 29, of Coral Springs died while snorkel diving off the Dolphin dive boat at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo.On July 5, two more divers who were diving off Hollywood, Florida, were hospitalized after they were hit by a speed boat.On July 4, searchers found the body of 31-year-old Darren Rordan who died while scuba diving off Manatee County, Florida.On June 8, the Coast Guard airlifted Bill Nelson, 55, to Shands Hospital for emergency medical treatment of potentially fatal decompression sickness (the bends) after a scuba diving accident off Tampa, Florida.On June 4, William Husic Jr, 61, a chemical engineer who resides in Brighton, died while snorkel diving at Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys.On May 30, Robert A. Jones, 38, of Zephyrhills, died while solo free diving in a cave at Blue Spring State Park, Florida.On May 10, Timothy Allen, 52, and Paula Allen, 48, were rescued off Hernando Beach, Florida, after drifting in the ocean for nearly 24 hours. The couple were swept away from their boat while scuba diving in strong currents.On May 5, NOAA research diver, Dewey Smith, 36, died while diving at the Aquarius underwater laboratory in the Florida Keys.On May 3, searchers recovered the body of Michael McQuillen, 29, of Lakeland, who disappeared the day before while scuba diving with friends west of John's Pass, Florida.On April 12, Mary Darnley, a 58-year-old retired nurse from Pennsylvania who had recently learned to dive, died while scuba diving with her husband off Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida.On March 20, a man in his 40s who was scuba diving off the Emerald Dive Charters boat, was rushed to hospital for treatment of potentially fatal decompression sickness (the bends).On February 18, Joseph Diver, 66, was rushed to hospital after a boat struck him while he was scuba diving at Pickles Reef in the Florida Keys.On January 11, two women in their 20s were rushed to Boca Raton Community Hospital after a boat hit them off Boca Raton, Florida.On January 10, Rob Murphy, 26, lost both legs after a hit and run boat struck him while he was scuba diving near Sandsprit Park, Florida. | | Bruce Ellwood Cook, 58, died while scuba diving near Marathon Key. Cook was the fourth of five divers who died during Florida's 2009 two-day lobster mini season.Firefighter Shane Slusarz died during a diving accident on Wednesday, July 29, while diving for lobsters off Brevard County, Florida.
|
